Today's Opinions

It’s no wonder the television networks opted to cut back their coverage of the party conventions. These days they’re so scripted that one might mistake them for infomercials.

Still, there are those occasional unscripted moments, like the Clint Eastwood episode at the Republican National Convention. Bizarre is a good word to describe it, and sadly entertaining. I doubt it did the Romney-Ryan ticket much good.

I want to thank Tom McDonald for his (Aug. 27) editorial asserting what the oil and gas industry’s carpet-baggers will not tell you, our commissioners (including Ron Ortega), or Ron Barela; namely, that the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), over 60 years and a million wells later, has proven to cause irreparable harm to the groundwater, livestock and humans living on or near fracking sites. The long and well documented history of “fraccidents” (including fatalities) speaks for itself.

THUMBS UP! NEW BUSINESS. It looks as if Las Vegas is going to get its first modern brewery. New Mexico Craft Brewing has been approved for the necessary licenses so it can make, distribute and sell its beer at 1212 Railroad Ave. Some 15 new jobs will be created, with manager Miguel Melendez saying the company’s goal is to “stay true to Las Vegas and to our area” by keeping its beer “as local as possible” — all the way down to local artists creating product labels that tell the story of this area.

• I would be more willing to pay the higher rates if the money only went to repair and maintain the water and sewer system. No parks, vehicles, extra employees, etc., just the water and sewer system. Don’t consider this a “slush” fund. There should be a date given when rates will be reduced, just in case someone forgets.

First, let’s set the stage with an excerpt from “The Manhattan Declaration,” which was developed by a group of prominent clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars of (many Christian) faiths:
“Therefore, let it be known that we will not comply with any edict that compels us or the institutions we lead to participate in or facilitate abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that violates the principle of the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every member of the human family.

Soon after the east side began its lightning-fast growth in 1879, many west side businesses moved across the river to the new rail town, finding it easier and more profitable to be near the railroad docks and sprawling commercial houses on Railroad Avenue. Thus began a gradual decline of the west side, which will be reviewed at length later.